


Lost and Found

by Haywire



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-24 02:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8352091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haywire/pseuds/Haywire
Summary: Buffy and Faith start out as just roommates, living together post-Sunnydale and trying to lead somewhat normal lives. But how long can that last? And could their relationship possibly grow into something more than just being roommates?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [parcequelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/parcequelle/gifts).



> Written for parcequelle for Femslash 2016, I hope you enjoy it!

“I’m home,” Buffy called out, throwing her keys onto the kitchen counter with a clang.

“In here,” came a reply from an adjoining room.

Buffy shrugged off her coat and hung it up next to the door. A quick scan of the kitchen revealed the makings of supper in progress on the stove, with various condiments strewn about the area.

“Hey, you’re home early,” Faith said as she entered the kitchen.

“Yeah, one of the other girls at the clinic wanted to swap shifts later in the week and I agreed.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I was gonna surprise you by making supper for when you got home, so…” Faith waved her hands out around the kitchen. “Surprise?”

“I am pleasantly surprised indeed,” Buffy chuckled. “You didn’t have to do that, Faith, but I appreciate it.” She wandered over to the stove to open the lid on one of the pots for a peek. “Whatcha makin’?”

Faith reached over and lightly smacked her hand before she could do so. “Ah ah ah, at least let me have that be a surprise.”

“Ok, ok,” Buffy said, shaking her hand a little. “No need for violence. Save it for our patrol tonight, yeah?”

“That’s tonight?” she asked, adjusting the heat on one of the stove top burners. “I thought that was tomorrow night.”

“Nope, we were out this time last week, so it’s tonight.” Buffy stepped back from the stove and crossed her arms. “It’s no big if you can’t go, it’s not like we had much to do last time after all.”

They mainly patrolled out of habit now; Willow ran the rest of the Slayers who’d become unlocked, with the assistance of Xander and the others, allowing Buffy and Faith to actually live the lives they’d been unable to have. They still felt the need to patrol occasionally, usually once per week, though a lot of the time there was nothing to be found.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s just…” Faith snapped her fingers. “How ‘bout this, you go tonight and then we can both totally rock it this weekend. Like old times, right?”

“Sure, no worries.” Buffy said with a wave of her hand. “I’m going to change before supper, shout out when it’s ready?”

“Five by five,” replied Faith with a small salute.

Buffy headed for her bedroom, which was at the end of the upstairs hallway in the split level house they rented. She passed Faith’s room along the way, peering in through the open door.

Sitting on top of her bed as an outfit, laid out and presumably ready for whatever plans Faith had for the evening. While it wasn’t anything exceptionally dressy or formal - consisting of a nice but simple top and dress pants, among other things - it was more than what was required for patrolling.

Buffy shook her head and continued to her own room, where she changed into something more comfortable and waited for supper to be ready.

-

Once supper was finished Buffy excused herself to arm up for the night’s excursion. She threw a hoodie on over her t-shirt and jeans, grabbed her usual weapons, and she was good to go.Faith volunteered to do the dishes and told her roommate she’d likely be gone by time she returned.

It was late August and still fairly warm, though there was a faint chill in the air for those sharp enough to pick up on it. Daylight was fading, and her neighbourhood was gradually becoming deserted. The small Arizona town Buffy and Faith lived in was about equidistant between Las Vegas and Phoenix, and boasted a small yet dedicated population in the low thousands. It was very different from Sunnydale, but that wasn’t a bad thing, not at all.

The months that followed the final battle with The First that destroyed Sunnydale changed Buffy’s world in more ways than one. While it meant a new future and a new life for her, for all of the Scoobies, it also felt something like a trip back in time as well. A time when things were simpler, when worrying about her homework took priority over her regularly scheduled patrols around Sunnydale.

Buffy’s cell phone rang, breaking her out of her reverie. She smiled as she saw who was calling and answered the call.

“Look who’s calling as I was just thinking about school and homework,” she said.

“Sorry, I must have the wrong number, I’m looking for my sister Buffy,” said Dawn. “Someone I’m pretty sure almost never thought about either of those things.”

“Nuh-uh,” Buffy countered. “Sometimes I did, just not all that much.” She found an empty park bench and took a seat. “How are you doing?”

“Not bad, settling in for the term.” Dawn was attending university in another state, an opportunity Buffy herself had never had. It left her feeling both good and bad; good that her little sister had far more options than she herself had, but bad that her little sister was consequently living miles away. It was what she wanted, however, and Buffy was glad that Dawn had the ability to make that choice. That’s what they’d always been fighting for after all, wasn’t it, she’d asked herself.

“As long as settling in doesn’t mean attending raging keggers and abusing recreational drugs then that’s good to hear.”

“Pfft, whatever _Mom_ ,” replied Dawn before stopping, both of them at a temporary loss for words. “So, uh, how’re things with Faith?” Dawn asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Good, good, she’s doing ok.” It had been about six months or so since Faith had moved in with Buffy. The arrangements were only supposed to be temporary but there was no real end in sight. While that was more than fine with Buffy in theory, she’d had some concerns about the other Slayer pulling her own weight.

“So she’s got a job now?”

“Well, not _that_ good, but she’s trying,” Buffy answered. She thought back on the clothing on her bed and her skipping patrol that evening. “I think.”

“Oh.” Dawn paused again. “Well, tell her I said hi, will you?”

“Will do. Do you need anything?”

“Nah, we’re good. I just wanted to call and check in, we’ve been busy and I haven’t had a chance the last few days, that’s all.” said Dawn.

“Ok, thanks for letting me know then,” Buffy said. “I’ll let you get back to it, I’m on patrol now anyway.”

“You still do that?” Dawn asked. “I mean, I can see how it’d be second nature now but… you don’t really need to, right?”

“I know, it’s a force of habit.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Either way, I’ll call you sometime this weekend, ok?”

“Sounds good. Love you, be careful!”

“Love you too, bye.” Buffy slid the phone back into her pocket after hanging up, then got back to her feet.

As she got closer to the park exit, she looked across the street and caught sight of a group of people entering a nearby large building. They were laughing and talking amongst themselves, with one of the men holding open the entrance door for the others, one of whom was Faith.

Buffy waited until they had all entered and were out of sight before walking closer and taking a better look at the building. There was a large series of signs along its front, and it appeared to be a mini mall filled with various businesses and offices. One sign in particular caught her eye: Larry’s Pub.

She sighed and turned around, any and all motivation to continue her patrol having evaporated. Instead she went back home, got into her pyjamas, popped some popcorn and watched some bad television before calling it an early night. Faith, true to her word, hadn’t returned home by the time she went to bed.

-

The next morning Buffy woke up to the smell of something sweet wafting in from the kitchen. She yawned and sat up, stretching for a minute before slipping into her slippers and wandering out to see what was up.

“Mornin’, sunshine.” Faith was at the stove again, making something else. Buffy couldn’t see quite what from her vantage point so she rubbed her eyes and walked closer.

“Heya, you’re up early. I presume,” she added, not really knowing what time her roommate came home exactly. “Or has it just been like a really, _really_ long night?”

Faith chuckled and turned to work at the stove again, then reached over for a plate that sat next to it. “Nah, I wasn’t out all that late, just wanted to make up for missing out last night is all.” She turned back to Buffy and placed a plate on the table. “You like crepes, right?”

The plate was full of a huge crepe, complete with hazelnut spreading both on top of it and oozing out, with pieces of banana sprinkled about.

“Oh wow. Yes, yes I do,” said Buffy, pulling out a chair and sitting in front of the proffered food without taking her eyes off of the plate. Faith had already placed a fork and knife on the table, and she returned with a cup of coffee as well, sliding it next to the plate. “You really didn’t have to do this, Faith, but damn. Thanks.”

“No worries. It’s something I wanted to try, so I figured why not make one for you as well, right?” Faith returned to the stove to finish the one she was making for herself.

After a couple of forkfuls, Buffy pondered whether to bring up seeing her last night. “So, you had a good night, I take it?”

Faith shrugged, glancing over her shoulder as she worked. “Eh, it was ok, nothing special.”

“Go anywhere fun?”

“Just out with a few friends, y’know?” Faith took a plate and served up her own crepe, adding some fresh fruit and more hazelnut spread before sitting across the table from Buffy. “No big.”

“No big, yeah.” Since no real answer was apparently forthcoming Buffy decided to let it go for now. Taking another mouthful of deliciousness, she glanced at the clock and then sighed. “I better get a move on soon, working again this morning. Tomorrow’s payday at least, which is good, rent being due in a few days and all.” She watched Faith to see if that’d get any reaction from her.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Faith replied. “I’ll get you some money before then, promise. I’m due to get some before then.”

“So… you’ve got a job, then?” asked Buffy, forking another piece of crepe and swirling it around in some of the excess hazelnut spread.

“Not exactly, but…” Faith sighed. “I’ll get you some, Buff, don’t worry, ok?”

“Ok, sorry, I just…” She finished the last bit of her crepe and pushed the plate away a little. “We can talk later when I get home if you want, right now I need to hop in the shower.”

“Alright, sure. Have a good one.” Faith gave her a small tight smile, taking the empty plate and bringing it over to the sink. Buffy headed for the washroom with the remnants of her coffee in her head, sipping it on the way.

-

When she got home from work, Faith was waiting for her inside the living room, clutching an envelope in her hand. She waved for Buffy to come join her as soon as she came in.

“Hey there, what’s up?” Buffy asked, plopping down in one of the couches across from Faith.

“Got some big news for you, B.” She grinned and handed the envelope over to her, and Buffy stretched out to take it from her hand. It seemed too thin for cash, she figured; maybe it was a cheque?

Buffy opened it and frowned as she removed and saw its contents. It was an invitation of some sort, which wasn’t what she’d been expecting at all.

“So? Are you gonna come or what?” asked Faith.

“To what, exactly?” Buffy read the invitation more closely. “Wait, this is for a school? You’re not going to someone’s prom or something, are you?” She looked at Faith with a wide eyed stare.

“What? No, what the hell, Buffy?” Faith laughed. “What kinda creeper do you take me for, exactly? It’s for… well, it’s for _my_ school.” She reached over and tapped the top of the invitation to point it out. “I’ve been going there since shortly after I started staying here with you.”

Buffy reread the header, which was a logo for an Adult Basic Education school. The address looked familiar too, and she quickly realized that the school was located in the same building she’d seen Faith enter the other evening.

“Yeah, that’s where I’ve been going most nights. I just didn’t want to tell you because, well, y’know.” Faith shrugged, resting her hands in her lap and looking down at the floor.

“Oh. Oh, so that’s…” Buffy reached out and put her hand over Faith’s. “I’m sorry, Faith, I didn’t know.” She felt terrible for thinking her roommate wasn’t getting a job because she’d been too busy partying and wasting her time, and here she was out trying to upgrade her education.

“And I didn’t want to tell you, I was too ashamed, I guess.” Faith shrugged, still looking down but not pulling her hands away. “I mean, I didn’t exactly have perfect attendance before the whole Slayer thing, and since then, well.”

“No, I understand, Faith,” Buffy replied. “I just never thought that’s where you were going. If I’d have known, I’d…”

“You’d what, offered to help me with my homework?” joked Faith. “It’s all good, Buffy. And now that I’ve got my GED I’ve applied for trade school and just got accepted. I’ve got funding for it and everything, which is how I’m planning to pay you back for all the rent and groceries and things you’ve been paying.”

“From your tuition? Oh no, Faith, you don’t have to do that -” Buffy started.

“I want to pay my part, B, seriously,” interjected Faith. “That’s part of why I’m doing this, I’m not a freeloader.” She pulled her hands away and got to her feet, crossing her arms and walking over to the living room window and looking out onto the street below.

Buffy got up and followed her, unsure of what to say. Instead she reached out and gently put one hand on her shoulder, staying there like that for a few moments.

“You’re not a freeloader. You just needed a place to stay, and I was more than happy to have you here, Faith. Still am, even.”

Faith didn’t reply, but she did reach up with one of her own hands, placing it on top of Buffy’s. If Buffy didn’t know better she might’ve thought the other Slayer was crying, or trying not to, but she wasn’t about to say anything about it.

“Hey, I’ll totally come to your grad. Of course I will.” She squeezed Faith’s shoulder before stepping back, sliding her hand out from under Faith’s to go look at the invitation again. “Yup, I’m definitely free for this. I’ll be there with bells on. Hell, I’ll even go out and get actual _bells_ to wear if that’s what you want, though I don’t know if that’d go over well now that I think about it. It’d be noisey, yeah? And there’s probably, like, parts of the ceremony where you have to be quiet, so no bells.”

Faith wiped her face before turning around, grinning at Buffy once she did. “Just shut up and tell me you’re going, will ya?”

“I’m going.” Buffy smiled. “Without bells, just so we’re clear.” She gave Faith a hug, and was a little surprised at how tight she was being hugged back. It was nice, though; warm and soft, not things she normally associated with Faith, but pleasantly surprising.

“Oh, hey,” asked Buffy, pulling back from the hug. “You didn’t say what you’re going to be studying in trade school.”

“Baking, believe it or not,” Faith answered. “That’s why I’ve been trying to cook more often and make breakfast and all that.” She paused, looking skyward for a beat. “Well, that and trying to make things up to you.”

“Ahh, now it all makes sense,” chuckled Buffy. “You’re great at it already, so I can only say I look forward to whatever else you learn in the near future.” As if on cue, her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t had supper yet. “And on that note, we’re going out for supper to celebrate, my treat. I insist,” she added, finger raised to cut off any argument.

“Alright, alright, how can I say no to that?” Faith raised her hands, knowing better than to argue with Buffy.

“Perfect. You pick out the place while I go and get changed.” Buffy nodded and then headed to her bedroom, feeling a lot better about things - and Faith - than she had in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

The night of Faith’s graduation had been an odd one. The ceremony itself was fairly brief and straightforward, but after that there was a reception and dinner for the graduates and their friends and family. A number of people greeted Buffy with things like “oh so you’re Faith’s partner!” and “we’ve heard so much about you.”

Faith explained to Buffy she’d told them that they used to work together, which explained where all of that was coming from, or so she claimed. Buffy found it rather amusing to be honest, but didn’t really think much more about it at the time.

It lingered in her mind afterwards, and she meant to bring it up to Faith when the time was right. There just never seemed to be a right time, however, so in time she forgot about it.

All of that changed during one of her shifts in the clinic, when a patient presented with what he claimed was a “snake bite on his neck.” Buffy heard some of the other staff talking about it and volunteered to help with the patient.

When she met the person, chills went down her spine. The wounds were exactly what one would expect from a vampire attack, from the location of the bite - right in the thick portion where the neck met the shoulder - down to the size and shape of the marks.

“What do you think?” asked the patient, rubbing the area and wincing. They were waiting for a physician to arrive, and it was just Buffy and the man in a small waiting room.

Buffy looked down at his chart, He’d been experiencing memory problems and loss of consciousness for the last several hours according to the nurse who’d seen him on intake. Signs that he was turning, signs which she unfortunately knew all too well. It had been a while since she’d seen them - her mind went back to Jesse in Sunnydale, funny how memory worked - but they were unmistakable, especially to a Slayer.

“Let’s just wait until the doctor’s here, yeah?” she said with a forced smile. Buffy looked at the chart again. “So, where did you say this happened again, sir?”

“It’s the damndest thing, I have trouble remembering. Not just that, with… with everything,” he sighed, grunting and feeling the wound again. “I think… I think I was downtown, I’d just had supper at this new restaurant. It’s down in the old part of town, near some old warehouses, pretty run down but they’re trying to bring it back.” He paused to cough, turning away from Buffy.

She knew the area he was talking about. When she had been patrolling it had been one of the few areas around town where she’d actually encountered anything. There hadn’t been a ton of vampires but she’d run into some every now and then. Not for a while though, which made her worried; were they collaborating now, building up their forces for something bigger?

Buffy shook her head and turned her attention back to the present. The man was still coughing and had taken a seat now. His skin was changing colour, and she knew it was just a matter of time now. She looked around the room to assess her options which were unfortunately limited.

The man went silent, and his body slumped over in the chair, eerily still. It wouldn’t be long now, so Buffy steeled herself and waited for the transformation to be complete.

It didn’t take long.

The man’s eyes snapped open, now a completely different, supernatural colour. He growled and lunged up out of the chair with terrifying speed, arms outstretched and reaching for Buffy.

While she was in far from peak condition, she was still a Slayer, and she dodged it with little effort. The man sailed past her and banged into the wall with a thud before falling on his back onto the lone examination table in the room.

Buffy kicked out with one leg, cracking the leg off of the chair in which the man had been seated. Before he could move again, she scooped up the broken off wooden leg and whirled around, arcing her arm up and then down, plunging the impromptu stake into his chest.

The look of surprise on his face only lasted for a split second before he exploded into a cloud of dust, making Buffy cough this time.

One of the other clinic workers knocked and opened the door, likely checking in from all of the noise their struggled had created.

“Everything ok in here, Buffy?” she asked, peering around and frowning. “Where’d Mr. Smith go?”

She turned around and gave a small smile to her coworker. “Oh, he remembered something and, y’know.” Buffy shrugged. “Just went poof.”

“If I had a dollar every time that happened, right?” the other lady chuckled, shaking her head as she left and went back to whatever she’d been doing before.

“You have no idea,” said Buffy, reaching for her cell phone and looking up Faith’s contact information.

-

“I dunno, Buff,” Faith said from her spot on their couch. “We should call Willow and get them involved before we do anything.”

“We can’t just wait,” replied Buffy, pacing back and forth. “We have to act now, before it’s too late.”

“I hear you, but…” Faith trailed off.

“Look, I know we’re not in the best shape, but we’re _Slayers,_ Faith.” Buffy stopped pacing, crossing her arms and looking down at her. “Hell, at one point we were the _only_ Slayers in the world.” She frowned and looked skyward for a moment. “I mean, technically for a good chunk of time _I_ was the only Slayer…” Buffy shook her head and refocused herself. “Anyway, all that matters is we’re the only ones here right now, so it falls on us to do something.”

“And normally I’d be right there with you, B.” Faith got to her feet, putting a hand on Buffy’s shoulder. “But it’s been, what, like over a year now since we’ve been done anything more than routine patrolling?” Her eyes met Buffy’s and tried to convey what she couldn’t - or didn’t - want to say, the ugly truth that neither of them wanted to say aloud.

“I know, but I already texted Willow. She’s unable to send anyone until a few days at best,” said Buffy, moving away from Faith’s hand and walking away from her. “And… you’re right, we’re not what we used to be.” She looked down at her hands, seeing lines that she hadn’t realized were there before.

“So we can’t just rush in like we used to do,” continued Faith, following the same line of reasoning she’d been laying down the entire conversation.

“How about we just do a recon then, hmm?” Buffy said, turning around once more. “Strictly observation only, to get some intel that we can send back to Willow.”

“I don’t know, it still sounds pretty risky to me,” Faith replied. “Wait, did I actually just say that? God, I’ve been baking too long, I think.” She shook her head, mostly joking but also realizing just how much truth was behind that statement.

“It won’t be, not with two of us.” Buffy paused and then reached out, taking Faith’s hand in hers. “We can still do this. Together.” Part of her felt guilty, knowing that she may have been manipulating Faith slightly with this approach, but she knew that she had to do this. It was what she was born to do, and Faith too.

“I…” Faith looked down at their hands, not pulling away but not saying anything else either.

“If you don’t want to come along then I’ll go by myself. It has to be done, that’s the bottom line. I’d just rather have you watching my back,” Buffy pressed, adding a squeeze of Faith’s hand at the end. The words were true, she realized, truer than she’d realized before speaking them. She still felt bad about using the feelings she thought Faith had for her in that way but she wasn’t lying when she said she wanted Faith to come with her.

“...so are we going to have time for supper before heading out for this or what?”

-

They waited until after midnight to head out. Their neighbourhood was virtually deserted, the street lights and the nearly full moon the only sources of light visible in the darkness. The part of town where they were headed wasn’t all that far away; one of the mercies of living in a small town, Buffy figured.

It didn’t take them long to get there, and they parked far enough away from the warehouse to allow for a quick getaway should one be warranted. Arming themselves, they left the car behind and made their way to the building.

While the front of the warehouse was fairly well lit, the spaces between it and other buildings, along with the back, were as dark and empty as Buffy had hoped. They brought flashlights but weren’t going to use them unless absolutely necessary. The pair of Slayers waited near the back of the building until their eyes were adjusted to the darkness, and then they began seeking for a way inside.

“B, over here,” whispered Faith, signalling toward a hanging ladder which lead up to a fire escape. Once she knew Buffy had seen her Faith began climbing up the same, being as quiet as possible given the metal on metal nature of the structure at least.

Buffy let her get up to the first level of the escape before jumping up and following behind Faith. It looked like there were three stories in total, with the last level going up to the roof of the building. Out of practice or not, the pair made it to the top fairly quickly, and from there they cautiously explored the wide open rooftop area.

There were several sky lights dotted across the surface, and both Slayers carefully made their way around them, peeking down while trying their best to stay out of sight themselves. Nothing jumped out to Buffy; it appeared to be just a typical warehouse inside.

After several more minutes of scouting yielded similar results, Faith leaned over and whispered to Buffy. “Seen enough yet, B?”

“Yeah, I think so,” she admitted. “At least it’s not what I was afraid it’d be, yeah?” There was no large congregation of vampires, plotting to take over the town and subjugating or killing everyone within it. “Let’s… wait, hold up.”

Buffy paused, reaching out her hand to keep Faith still as someone came into view below them. Whoever it was slid into view from the shadows, entering from one of the warehouse’s side doors and dragging something behind them.

No, not something. Someone.

Buffy sprang into action before Faith could stop her or say anything else. She darted for the other side of the building, the side from which the other person had entered, and found a mirrored fire escape on that side of the building. With Faith right behind her, Buffy jumped down to the next landing and tried the door, forcing it open with a snap as her Slayer strength twisted it off, lock and all, allowing them entry into the building.

From there everything unfolded quickly. The figure that had entered from below turned to see the pair of women standing just outside the doorway, backlit by the moon. Even with the differing light levels, Buffy could make out the telltale signs of a vampire; fangs extruding, eyes discoloured, and they had caught the figure hunched over the other still body, presumably about to feed on him or her.

Realizing that she still had the metallic doorknob in her hand, Buffy wound up and pitched it towards the vampire, whacking it right in the upper chest with a direct hit. The vampire wheezed and dropped its prey, bending over slightly from the impact.

It snapped back up quickly, reaching into its jacket for something. Buffy realized what it was going for just as the gun barrel came into view. She reflexively moved to one side and reached out to push Faith back out of the way; ducking would just leave Faith standing in her place, and she still had nightmares of Tara and what had happened to her.

A split second later she yelled out a warning to Faith, at the same time the gun went off. She couldn’t hear her own voice over the loud bang, but there was no time to check on Faith. Buffy leapt forward, snatching a long length of metal pipe on the way She moved her arms as she went, whirling the lengthy object ahead of her and lashing out, knocking the firearm out of the vampire’s hands. It skittered along the concrete floor, coming to a rest well out of both of their reach.

The vampire hissed and, assessing the situation, turned tail and fled. Its speed belied its human appearance, and it quickly disappeared from view, lost among the crates and containers inside the warehouse. Buffy figured it wouldn’t be back any time soon.

She heard a groan and looked down to the vampire’s intended victim, who was still out cold. It took a few heartbeats for Buffy to realize who was making the noise before she ran back towards the fire escape.

Looking out over the edge, she saw Faith sprawled out on the ground three stories below.

-

She called the police on her cell phone, and as she’d helped Faith get to her feet Buffy could hear the sirens approaching. They’d find the would be victim exactly where she’d told them, in the warehouse, and for now her focus was on helping Faith.

If she hadn’t been a Slayer like Buffy… she shuddered to think about it. Still, she couldn’t help but think about it; had she been out with one of the other Scoobies, things would have ended very differently. As it was, Faith was pretty banged up and was having difficulty breathing - probably a bruised, if not broken, rib or two, if her experience at the clinic had taught her anything. She also had a number of contusions and cuts and scrapes, and maybe even a concussion, though Buffy had no way to tell at that point.

Faith had been pretty dazed, but she’d gotten to her feet after a minute or so, with Buffy’s assistance. She hadn’t spoken since the fall, but she’d nodded when Buffy told her they had to go. She slung one arm around Buffy’s and they walked as fast as they could, with Faith wincing with just about every step.

After she carefully put her in the back seat, letting her lay down, Buffy got in and drove them home. She considered bringing her to the hospital but that would only lead to questions neither of them would be able to answer. They could always attend in the morning if things hadn’t gotten better. Buffy hoped the same innate Slayer healing she had would help Faith in the meantime.

Once they got back inside the house, Buffy helped Faith to her bedroom. Once she had her laying down and as comfortable as she could, she then got her an ice pack from the fridge. They kept a few on hand in there, mainly for post-exercise or aerobics purposes these days, but Buffy was glad they had some at least.

As she closed the freezer door Buffy leaned against the fridge, closing her eyes at the sound of the door closing. The enormity of the situation hit her and she felt her eyes watering as she slid down the side of the fridge. Her adrenaline was wearing off and she felt tired, more tired than she’d felt in a long time. Not only physically but emotionally, she was exhausted.

This was what Faith meant, she thought. That they were both not ready for something like this, and not just on a physical level, which she’d purely thought of it as being. And because she’d ignored the warning Faith had paid the price.

Sniffling, Buffy forced herself back up to her feet. If she hadn’t been strong enough to see that before, she’d be strong now for Faith. It was her fault that she’d been hurt and she wasn’t going to let that happen again. She was going to help her through this, because the thought of losing Faith -

She shook her head, not wanting to even think about that. Buffy made her way back to Faith’s bedroom, grabbing a towel from the bathroom to wrap around the ice pack on the way.

As she walked in she saw Faith, backlit by the moon coming through her window, struggling to remove her t-shirt with a grimace on her face. She was side on to Buffy, and she turned her head when she heard the other Slayer approaching.

“Hey, a little help, please?” she managed, the pain apparently on her face.

Buffy moved in and laid the ice back on one corner of the bed, carefully reaching up and tugging the shirt up and over her head, then off of Faith’s arms. From her vantage point she could see Faith’s back, which even in the dim light of the room was discoloured with bruising from her impact onto the pavement.

Faith leaned back carefully onto the bed with Buffy’s help. She adjusted the pillows to make it more comfortable, then reached for the ice pack.

“Here, let me put this on your forehead,” Buffy said, reaching out to place it there.

Faith winced at the cold more than the pain, but didn’t try to remove it from her forehead. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, exhaling loudly. “That’s actually kinda nice, the cold.”

“It’ll help fend off a headache, I hope so anyway,” Buffy said. “I’m going to get you some ibuprofen too, you’re going to be sore in the morning.”

“I’m sore right now,” Faith said with an attempt at a chuckle, which turned into a cough. “Sorry, trying to make lemonade, y’know?”

“I know,” Buffy replied, turning her head to one side at the cough. She bit her lip, trying not to let her eyes water any further, then stood up to get the ibuprofen.

“Hey,” Faith said, reaching out and taking her hand. “This isn’t your fault, B. You know that, you’ve been doing this long enough to know that.”

Buffy didn’t try to pull away, but she stayed standing, back on to Faith. “I know what could’ve happened, what almost happened,” she said, sniffing again.

“Yeah, I almost got shot, that’s what almost happened. Trust me, Buffy, this could’ve gone a lot worse.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” said Buffy, turning around again to face Faith and pulling her hand away, not caring now if she saw her crying. “You could’ve died, and it would’ve been my fault, Faith.”

“Oh please, it’d take more than one damn vampire to kill me,” Faith replied.

“It wasn’t the vampire that almost killed you, it was me and my stupid idea.” Buffy shook her head, sitting back down on the bed and looking out the window. “You were right, we should’ve waited for Willow to send help instead of just rushing in there.”

“Buffy,” Faith said, reaching out once more, this time putting her hand on Buffy’s back. “You know as well as I do that, what, a year or two ago I’d have been the one charging in there. We’re Slayers, is what we’re trained to do, it’s just…” She paused, waving her hand through the air as she sought for the right words. “It’s different now. Lots of things are different now.”

“I know, I just…” Buffy shook her head some more as the tears continued to roll freely. “I almost lost you, and I don’t - I _can’t_ \- not you.” She turned back to Faith, this time instigating the hand holding.

“You didn’t lose me.” Faith squeezed Buffy’s hand, then reached out with her other hand to brush back some of her hair and gently wipe away her tears with a thumb. “You’re not going to lose me, you hear?”

Buffy leaned into her hand ever so slightly, closing her eyes and letting her brush aside some of the tears. More came, but she stayed like that for a minute or two before moving once again. When she opened her eyes again she moved in closer to Faith, positioning herself to lay down next to her on the bed and resting her head next to Faith’s.

Faith turned her head just enough to plant a kiss on top of Buffy’s head, then leaned back against her, still holding onto her hand. Nothing more was said as they both did their best to fall asleep, trying not to focus on what they’d almost lost but instead on what they’d found.


End file.
